Stillwater Suites
by ares madona
Summary: Emma, recently without a home, finds shelter in a cheap hotel. No, not in a room, but in empty storage rooms, behind sets of stairs, and most recently in a secluded corner of the lobby. One night in the early hours of the morning, young Emma finds herself in an uncomfortable confrontation. Will she get out of it herself or will someone come along and save her?


_Hello! So quick Author's Note: This chapter is based off of true events but I've (obviously) altered bits so I can have the pleasure of turning an uncomfortable situation into the beginning of a little journey between our two favorite ladies. With that being said, this chapter does contain a pretty cringe-worthy situation, but that's all I'm going to say without giving away plot. So without further ado, here's the first chapter! (I apologize for any mistakes)_

* * *

With a jolt, Emma caught her head from slipping off her hand and blinked her eyes open. Slightly disoriented, she looked around and was relieved to see the familiar décor of the unimpressive hotel lobby, and even more so when she noticed from her secluded corner that she remained the only occupant. Even though it was three am and she wasn't expecting many people to be roaming around at this hour, she still took comfort in the isolation.

When Ingrid had essentially disowned her a week earlier, Stillwater Suites had been the first place Emma stumbled upon that could provide her undetected shelter from the fittingly timed downpour. There were enough hidden storage rooms, hallways, and stairwells for the blonde to bunk in for a few hours a night, and when the morning sun came it wasn't hard to make herself scarce.

A cramped laundry room just a small walk away from the main lobby had provided her the most security in the past several days, and she had pushed her luck by residing there for multiple nights in a row. It was a tad ironic how a room without a door could provide such a sense of safety, but with the way the large machines were organized, they hid her from sight of anyone walking past the small utility room, and the open threshold let allowed Emma to hear anything happening outside the room- like security running around looking for a scrawny blonde with a string knapsack of belongings, for instance.

However, the currently homeless blonde only slept a few hours a night, but was always sure to be out of hiding before hotel residents started coming down in search of their complimentary breakfast. Sometimes she snagged a bagel or two before leaving through a side door in the lobby to disappear for the day.

In reality, Emma knew the staff probably would assume she was a guest at the hotel just down for breakfast of her own, but she felt like there was a neon sign branded onto her forehead that said she didn't belong there.

The hotel wasn't an overly posh establishment, but in a week of observing, Emma had seen a variety of social classes traipse through the lobby. At 19 years old, she knew that she could probably get away with adopting the identity of the daughter of one of the average looking guests, but she still felt glaringly out of her depth.

That's why she favored the nights when most of the guests were typically asleep, and even some of the staff.

When the clock declared what Emma assumed was the "graveyard shift", there was a front desk worker who had come in every night and tucked himself into a little office behind the desk. There weren't many guests checking in during the late hours because, as Emma had learned, the hotel didn't function by a 24-hour schedule. They had check-out at 11 in the morning and then check-in began at 3 in the afternoon, giving housekeeping the hours in between to strip the rooms, or so the blonde guessed.

That meant that checking into a room at midnight or one in the morning wasn't common since, according to the hotel, the day didn't restart until 3 the next afternoon when guests were allowed to check-in. Or at least that's what Emma understood when she overheard a mother of two pour out her life story while trying to get a room at two in the morning a couple nights ago.

Either way, the point remained that the hotel lobby was rarely occupied from midnight to the time breakfast was served and that was all that mattered to Emma. The lack of business in the early morning hours meant that the man working the front desk stayed tucked away in his little office behind the counter where he snored through most of his shift, leaving the blonde undisturbed at a table in a far corner of the lobby.

Or at least that's how it had been for the past several nights.

Tonight, as Emma sat at a familiar round table decorated with a design of gaudy fragments of glass, she saw a figure in her peripherals wandering into the lobby from the side door. That was, the door without the cheery jingle that woke up the man behind the desk form his slumber to alert him when someone walked in.

In Emma's mind everyone was suspicious, and as the figure loomed closer, her eyes focused on the notebook in front of her. Someone had left the ratty blue journal behind a few nights ago, and the blonde thought it would be a good cover if anyone asked what she was doing, "studying, of course."

With eyes burning into the blank white sheet in front of her, the faint blue lines started to blur as her vision unfocused and she became more aware of the person who seemed to be approaching from the side of the room.

 _No one's ever come up to me before. Shit. Don't make eye contact, people always take that as an invitation. Just don't look. They're probably going to the desk anyway, why-_

"What's a girl like you doing out here so late?"

Emma swallowed and her toes curled inside her worn in shoes. Was _she_ the one that looked suspicious? Reluctantly, she looked up and was met with the sight of a gray haired man with a beer belly and a smile that was too friendly for such an hour of the night.

 _Studying, of course._

"Oh, nothing just studying," _Can't you tell by the notebook that's barely been written in and the pen that hasn't been touched since I pulled it out of my bag? Well, sir, it's been a while since you've been in school I'm sure, things have changed. We write with invisible ink these days._

Emma pulled the incriminating notebook closer to her body and folded her arms over the glaringly white pages as she watched the man's eyes closely for any signs that he didn't buy her excuse. To her surprise, he instead took an unwanted step closer and tilted his head in interest that the blonde was sure was an act.

"Ah, I remember my college days. Up all night, for one reason or another," there was a wink and Emma fought back a cringe. "What's your major?"

"Just a general degree, so far," was Emma's short reply. It wasn't worth pointing out that it was summer and she was currently homeless so she had no idea where her life would be by the time the fall semester rolled around again. Not only would that invalidate Emma's excuse of "studying," but she really didn't want to entertain a conversation with this man who was wandering around hotel lobby at three in the morning with no explanation. But by the looks of it, he thought this was the perfect time and place to segue into his entire life story.

"Well, you've got forever to figure out what your passion is. Me? I've always known what I was meant to do."

The feeling Emma got under the gaze of his blue eyes had her swallowing a shudder as her foot bounced rapidly, impatient for this entire encounter to be over.

"I own a bird sanctuary," he continued either oblivious or disregarding Emma's discomfort. "and you know what's crazy? I guess I must have this comforting or reassuring aura because every time I've taken in an injured bird, they let all me operate on them completely without anesthesia."

 _Is this supposed to be some shitty metaphor or something?_ _Am I your next injured bird?_

Emma was filled with a mixture of exasperation and apprehension as she replied with a deadpanned, "You don't say?"

"It's the truth! Amazing isn't it?"

The blonde took her cue to nod and hummed an appeasing agreement. The nameless gray-haired man shifted and reached into his pocket. Emma heard the jingling of what she assumed was car keys and spare change before he procured a scuffed leather wallet.

"What's your name?" It was asked as if Emma had already told this shady stranger her name and warning bells sounded quietly in the back of her mind.

"um- it's Emma."

Mentally she face-palmed herself.

 _Learn to lie, you idiot._

"Emma, you seem like a really wonderful person," Bird Man said as he picked up her unused pen off the table. "I could really use a person like you on my team for.. personal relations. You seem like you really have a way with people."

Emma frowned, wondering how on earth he had come to such a conclusion from their interaction, and what the hell he meant by _personal relations_. Judging from the look on his face, she'd guess it wasn't entirely business related.

"If you're ever up north a bit, you should come visit my sanctuary. Just in case, I wrote down the number to my cell." He reached out to hand Emma a business card with ten freshly penned digits on the back in bright blue ink. The blonde was careful not to touch his fat fingers as she took the card, not knowing what else to do.

"It was great to meet you, Emma," the greasy smile on his face as he said her name added to the blonde's discomfort, and to her displeasure, she saw those fat fingers extended to her once more. This time for a handshake.

"I'm Ralph, by the way."

 _For fuck's sake…_

Emma reached out with a reluctant and sweaty hand, only letting their fingertips touch as she shook the man's sausage-fingers in the most uncomfortable handshake she'd experienced in her 19 years.

Pulling her hand away quickly, Emma wiped her palm on the chair beneath her, not caring if _Ralph_ saw. She just hoped this would be his cue to leave. She couldn't take any more of his poorly disguised suggestions.

When he failed to move, Emma sat back in her chair and started turned a few pages back in her notebook where she knew there was some writing from the previous owner.

"Well, it was nice talking to you.." the blonde prompted, hoping to put an end to the unsettling encounter. Thankfully, Bird Man took the hint and swallowed whatever words it looked like he wanted to say before departing with one final smile.

Emma watched as the back of his sleazy, gray head walked away with heavy steps towards the front desk and the blonde inwardly cringed, realizing that he was probably checking into a room for the night. But at three in the morning?

There was shuffling behind the desk after the ding of the service bell rang through the lobby, and the poor soul behind the counter rose from his slumber to do his job. Emma watched the whole exchange and made sure that the old man left the lobby when it was finished before she finally took a breath and relaxed.

Sitting back in her chair, Emma tried to shake the image of _Ralph_ from her head, smarmy smile and all. With a sigh, the blonde realized that she might be better off trying to find another place to waste away the hours, but the thought was exhausting. She had already spent so many of the past several nights in cramped, dark corners and she didn't know where else to go without any money.

With a sigh, she folded her arms on the gaudy table and laid her head down. There was never anyone in the lobby at these hours and with the Bird Man incident out of the way, there shouldn't be any more issues until morning. Not that Emma planned on sleeping, but she didn't want to draw any more attention to herself here.

 _I'll find a new place tomorrow._

The blonde closed her eyes for a few minutes, and tried not to think too much about what the hell she was supposed to do with her life from here.

Soon, her quiet bubble was disturbed once more by obnoxious creak of the side door to the lobby opening, followed by the sound of heavy footsteps.

Emma lifted her head and when she caught the familiar figure in the corner of her vision her stomach dropped. He was back.

 _Maybe he just forgot to grab a key to his room?_

Even as the thought circulated in her mind, Emma didn't believe it. Her heart picked up a nervous pace the closer Ralph got, and the blonde began to pack her notebook into her bag along with her few meager belongings. If Ralph turned out to be the creepy old man that she had gotten an impression of earlier, Emma was damn sure going to be ready to make a run for it.

"Hey," Emma looked up from fussing with her bag in an act of obliviousness and was met with an eager smile that revealed coffee stained teeth.

"I brought you a brochure for my sanctuary," he started rambling about his beloved bird sanctuary, and Emma's eyes were shooting over to the front desk and finding the nearest exits. She almost wished that by some miracle the lazy night worker would wake up and see the creepy-old-dude-harassing-a-young-lady scenario that was quickly escalating in Emma's imagination as Bird Man spoke.

She liked to think that she could handle herself in most situations, but being alone the past week having to fend for herself had made everyone and everything seem more threatening. But something about this specific man definitely made her skin crawl, and that wasn't in her imagination.

"So, I'm here for a meeting in the morning," Emma regained her focus and pretended that she heard all that had been said. "But what about you, are you staying here?"

"Um.. I'm actually in between moving.."

 _Oh, so now you learn to lie. Too bad you basically just told him you're homeless- and_ vulnerable _\- which isn't much of a lie at all. Nice one, Emma._

Ralph looked confused before he spoke again, this time making Emma's stomach drop.

"Well, if you need somewhere to freshen up, you're welcome to come up to my room," that coffee-stained smile made a comeback before he finished his offer. "No strings attached."

Bile rose in Emma's throat as Ralph added a chuckle that he probably hoped made his offer seem genuinely innocent, but the look in his eyes told a different story.

Emma felt her body grow hot with panic as she tried to find a way to get out of the situation. If she said she was just going to go back to her own room, there was a chance that he would offer to walk her there, the pseudo-gentleman he was, and if she somehow made him mad with her response the blonde didn't know what to expect.

She was sweating by this point and she could feel her body termbling the longer Ralph stared at her expectantly.

 _He actually expects me to say yes.. like I'm one of his injured little birds at his fucking sanctuary._

Emma swallowed the sour taste in her mouth and shook her head, trying to put on a polite smile, but she wasn't sure she was in control of her facial muscles as panic filled her being.

"N-No that's okay, thank you," she finally replied, not knowing the appropriate way to turn down a hook up offer from a man easily three times her age.

Ralph responded with a shrug. "Alright, well.." he moved to reach in his pocket once more, and Emma internally debated getting up with her stuff. She didn't want him to get any ideas of following her or sticking around any longer, but she didn't like being stuck there waiting for him to give up either.

"Maybe if we see each other at breakfast," Ralph extended his hand and brought Emma's focus back to the present. When she looked to his hand, she realized he was holding a crumpled twenty-dollar bill between those sausage fingers of his, and her brow furrowed as her face flamed in confusion.

 _Is that a bribe, or a deposit for the future..?_

The thought made her want to gag and she finally grabbed her bag, leaving the money extended into open air as she stood hurriedly, the chair scraping loudly behind her as her body trembled with disgust.

 _I may be homeless but do I honestly look like a prostitute?_

"Really, I'm not-"

Emma was cut off by a voice speaking closely behind her.

"Is there a problem here?"

The blonde jumped and turned around, startled at being so oblivious to the presence of someone else behind her, but when her eyes focused on the owner of the voice, Emma merely blinked in surprise.

The woman had thick, dark hair that feathered just above her shoulders which were covered by a fitted black jacket that went with her professional skirt suit ensemble. She looked refined, but out of place in this cheap hotel with people like Emma and Ralph hanging out in the lobby at three, going on four, in the morning.

Not in a place to question the presence of a woman who could quite possibly turn out to be her savior, Emma forced herself to stop her assessment of the mysterious woman and figure out a way to escape her current situation.

Turning back to Ralph, she saw that the twenty-dollar bill was still sticking out between his fingers while his blue eyes took in the woman's figure in manner that seemed disgraceful with how stunning she was. Emma wondered what the woman thought she had just walked in on.

 _Oh, god. Does she think I look like a prostitute too?_

Emma looked back to the woman and was surprised when her dark brown orbs met her gaze immediately. She flushed, mortified at what this whole scene must look like, and suddenly felt sick. When was this night going to end?

Before either Emma or Ralph, who was still rudely ogling the woman, could answer her, the woman cleared her throat and spoke.

"Sir, I think you should go back to your room."

Ralph snapped out of his daze and suddenly looked as if that was the last thing he wanted to do now that he was in the presence of this beautiful mystery woman.

 _Or maybe that's exactly wants to do, just not alone._

The thought sent a visible shudder down Emma's spine and she took a subconscious step away from the sleazy Bird Man, and consequently closer to her dark savior.

Before Ralph had a chance to object, Emma felt an arm come to rest gently across her shoulders and she flinched before the soft, feminine smell of vanilla with a hint of something dark and floral surrounded her.

"And _we_ ," Emma's shoulder was squeezed with a gentle hand, "will go back to ours."

The blonde watched Ralph's face change, and she knew hers had to look something similar to the disbelieving shock etched into his features. Mouth gaping like a fish, he struggled to formulate a response, but the woman who had her arm delicately draped over Emma's shoulders didn't give him the chance. Instead, she guided Emma towards the back of the lobby towards the only elevator in the building.

The blonde, who had gone temporarily mute, did her best to keep up on her shaky legs. When they reached the elevator, a finger manicured perfectly with shining black polish summoned the machine, and Emma fought the urge to look behind them to see if Bird Man had moved on.

After the heavy silver doors parted and Emma was guided into the small space with a racing heart, she waited until the older woman removed her arm from her shoulders to turn around. She was afraid to step out of line with whatever scheme she was now a part of.

When an identically manicured finger reached out to press the button for the floor to _their_ room, Emma finally cast her eyes back into the lobby and saw the man's face still frozen in shock before the elevator doors slid shut with a resounding thud.

 _What did I just get myself into?_

* * *

 _That's it for chapter one! I actually added more than I originally intended so you could have a bit more of actual interaction between our ladies until the next chapter. That is, if you all think I should continue? Leave a review and let me know your thoughts! x_


End file.
